“Alcohol, Other Drugs and Driving. How do alcohol and other drugs affect driving? When you drive, your hands, eyes and feet control the vehicle, and your brain controls your hands, eyes and feet. To drive safely, you need to be alert, aware and able to make quick decisions in response to a rapidly changing environment. Alcohol and other drugs alter the normal function of the brain and body, and interfere with even the most skilled and experienced driver’s ability to drive safely. While different drugs can have different effects on driving, any drug that slows you down, speeds you up or changes the way you see things can affect your driving — too often with tragic consequences. Alcohol blunts alertness and reduces motor coordination. People who drive after using alcohol can’t react as quickly when they need to. Their vision is affected, and may be blurred or doubled. Alcohol alters depth perception, making it hard to tell whether other vehicles, pedestrians or objects are close or far away. And because alcohol affects judgment, people who drive after drinking may feel overconfident and not recognize that their driving skills are reduced. Their driving is more likely to be careless or reckless — weaving, speeding, driving off the road and, too often, crashing. Alcohol is a depressant drug, which means it slows down your brain and body. Other depressant drugs, including some prescription drugs such as sedatives and painkillers, affect a person’s ability to drive safely, in a way similar to alcohol. Any drug that causes drowsiness, including some cough, cold or allergy medications, can also affect a person’s ability to drive safely. When alcohol and another depressant drug are combined, the effect is more intense and dangerous than the effect of either drug on its own. When taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, it is wise to consult with your doctor or pharmacist before driving.
Stimulant drugs, such as caffeine, amphetamines and cocaine, may increase alertness, but this does not mean they improve driving skills. The tired driver who drinks coffee to stay awake on the road should be aware that the stimulant effect can wear off suddenly, and that the only remedy for fatigue is to pull off the road, and sleep. Amphetamines do not seem to affect driving skills when taken at medical doses, but they do make some people over-confident, which can lead to risky driving. Higher doses of amphetamines often make people hostile and aggressive.
People who use cocaine are also likely to feel confident about their driving ability. But cocaine use affects vision, causing blurring, glare and hallucinations. “Snow lights” — weak flashes or movements of light in the peripheral field of vision — tend to make drivers swerve toward or away from the lights. People who use cocaine may also hear sounds that aren’t there, such as bells ringing, or smell scents that aren’t there, such as smoke or gas, which distract them from their driving.
Cannabis impairs depth perception, attention span and concentration, slows reaction time, and decreases muscle strength and hand steadiness — all of which can affect a person’s ability to drive safely.
The effects of hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD, ecstasy, mescaline and psilocybin, distort perception and mood. Driving while under the influence of any of these drugs is extremely dangerous.
Because people react differently to the effects of alcohol, it is very difficult for a person to judge his or her own tolerance. A person may not feel “drunk,” but may still be legally impaired.
Is there some way I can quickly “sober up” if I’ve been drinking and need to drive home? No. Once a person consumes alcohol, it enters the bloodstream, and only time can reduce the concentration of alcohol in the blood. It takes about an hour for the average human body to process and eliminate two-thirds of the alcohol in one standard drink. This rate is constant, meaning that the more you drink, the longer time you need to wait before driving. Drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages might make you more alert, but your ability to drive will still be impaired.
How many accidents involve drivers who have been drinking alcohol or using other drugs? About 1,350 people die each year in Canada in motor vehicle crashes involving a drinking driver, and many more are seriously injured or disabled. In Ontario in 1997, alcohol was involved in 39 per cent of motor vehicle fatalities, 45 per cent of marine vehicle fatalities and 64 per cent of snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle fatalities. Drinking and driving is the largest single criminal cause of death and injury in Canada.
The role of other drugs, used on their own or in combination with alcohol, is not routinely assessed in traffic accidents, but is known to be an important factor in many road deaths. When people involved in traffic accidents were tested for the presence of drugs in a 1992 study, the drug found most often was alcohol. However, the total number of positive test results for all drugs other than alcohol was greater than the number of positive test results for alcohol alone. After alcohol, the most commonly detected drugs were cannabis, benzodiazepines and cocaine.
Studies have found that people who have been convicted of impaired driving offenses come from many different backgrounds, age and income groups. Such studies have also identified certain characteristics of people who drink and drive. Looking at convicted drinking drivers, we see that
- most are male
- a high proportion are “heavy” drinkers
- many have an “antisocial attitude,” meaning they lack respect for the law and the safety of others, and
- of those who are convicted of drinking and driving, almost all report having driven while under the influence many times before.
Impaired driving of any vehicle is a criminal offense with strict penalties under federal and provincial law. Such penalties include suspension of the driver’s licence, fines, jail sentences, treatment and education. “http://www.camh.net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/Drug_and_Addiction_Information/alchohol_drugs_driving_dyk.html
Drinking and driving continues be a major cause of injury and death even because the number of persons consuming alcohol has been increasing and not decreasing.
The whole truth comes out.. drunk drivers, snow removal, road accidents, recession..
Surging welfare demands in Ontario now really still begs the Questions as to when actually many of these people had lost their jobs, were unable to find one, after all welfare is used after one’s months of Unemployment insurance is used up first? It ALSO THUS seems someone is not telling us the true figures of the number of people unemployed in Canada, Ontario firstly, the recession did not just start this year.. especially since the people on welfare are generally no longer counted as unemployed.. Well the whole truth is coming out, being exposed even in Ontario.
“CP Ont. – Premier Dalton McGuinty dismissed calls Tuesday to accelerate the uploading of social assistance programs from municipalities, despite warnings that surging welfare costs will mean big tax hikes for struggling homeowners. “The short answer is no, I don’t believe so,” McGuinty said in London, Ont. The province, which pays for 80 per cent of welfare benefits, has moved a “long way” towards easing the burden on municipalities, he said. “Our burden, so to speak, is four times greater than theirs when it comes to dealing with the challenge of increasing welfare roles,” McGuinty said. “Just as they have financial challenges, so do we, and we’re going to have to find a way to manage our way through these.”
A recent TD Economics report warned that homeowners in struggling Ontario communities may be hit with big property-tax hikes to cover rising welfare costs during the recession. The report singled out Toronto, but TD economist and co-author Derek Burleton said other municipalities will face similar financial pressures as the economy sours. In its budget plan released Tuesday, Toronto signalled that residential property taxes will rise by four per cent in 2009. Mayor David Miller cited higher costs for transit, policing, snow clearance (* this explains why there have been more road accidents in Ontario now too, 17000 in the last 2 months, since Ontario’s roads have not been immediately cleared of the snow it seems..) and welfare in defending the hike. Municipalities can’t go into deficits, but the provincial government can. Municipalities currently pay 20 per cent of welfare benefits, but they also administer the program, and the province has capped increases to its share of those administrative costs, Burleton noted in his report.
Windsor, Ont., has been struggling for years to find a way out of a severe economic downturn that began in 2002, said Mayor Eddie Francis. As manufacturing jobs disappeared, welfare caseloads started to “skyrocket” in 2005, he said. With Windsor’s jobless rate hitting 11 per cent – the highest in Canada – more people are turning to welfare and other social programs as their unemployment benefits run out, Francis said. As the costs of maintaining those programs go up, the amount of tax revenue the city is collecting is plunging, he added. * “We’re at a point right now where… we’ve cut to the bone in terms of city services,” Francis said. Last year, the city lost about $15 million in tax revenue – the equivalent of a four per cent tax hike – because property values are falling and companies are shuttering plants and factories, Francis said. The loss of a GM plant alone would cost the city $3 million in much-needed tax revenue, he added. Speeding up the provincial upload of costs from municipalities and the arrival of much-needed federal cash for infrastructure projects would ease financial burden many cities and towns are facing, he said. “Everything is needed right now – all the tools,” he said. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090211/national/ont_municipalities_welfare
* It clearly appears that the lying Police chief of Ontario and also cops themselves who wrongfully even as of lately had have blamed most of the drivers themselves, speeding, for most of the accidents, they clearly wrongfully had failed to mention now that snow clearing road services were not up to par due to the recession… and definitely contributed to the accidents. the Liars, the” OPP responded to over 17,000 crashes on OPP patrolled highways in the last two months. Sgt. Woodford says not to blame the weather for the collisions, but drivers not driving according to road conditions, such as speeding and following too closely” https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2009/02/08/drunk-driving-arrests-jump/, https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/cops-lie-too/
Now also the recession has been going on for years in Ontario since 2005 and Stephen Harper did not know this as the Prime Minister of Canada, so now supposedly he could not deal with it or in reality he wrongfully again did not care to know, deal with it still too? and he does not know firsthand about alcoholism and it’s problem now too?
Former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin complained Stephen Harper was too slow in bringing forward a stimulus package, saying the government should have acted before Christmas. “I think the situation is very worrisome and I think that when you see these job numbers it’s a pity that we didn’t begin with the stimulus much earlier,” Martin said of a $40-billion plan MPs approved in principle last week. “The quicker you get at this kind of thing, the better off you are. I also think it’s very important the kind of stimulus that you engage in.”
Meanwhile, Brian Mulroney expressed skepticism over Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney’s prediction the economy will pick up next year. “While I hope he’s right, I find it somewhat optimistic,” said Mulroney, who grappled with a massive deficit that amounted to 8.7 per cent of the GDP when he took over from Pierre Trudeau in 1984. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090210/national/tv_prime_ministers
Here is what I know for sure in Canada proper policing, management , supervision human rights commissions are a real fact of life, society, in schools, life, in churches, governments, commerce, institutions, civil and public services, professional services too, and elsewhere, even on the net, for you will always have those 30 percent at least of the persons who will try to cheat, lie , steal, bend the rules, falsely believe they are above the laws, Self regulation alone is too often pretentious, farcical, often not applied as well. That applies especially to the professionals, civil and public services, police, municipalities, politicians now as well..
“Alcohol, Other Drugs and Driving. How do alcohol and other drugs affect driving? When you drive, your hands, eyes and feet control the vehicle, and your brain controls your hands, eyes and feet. To drive safely, you need to be alert, aware and able to make quick decisions in response to a rapidly changing environment. Alcohol and other drugs alter the normal function of the brain and body, and interfere with even the most skilled and experienced driver’s ability to drive safely. While different drugs can have different effects on driving, any drug that slows you down, speeds you up or changes the way you see things can affect your driving — too often with tragic consequences. Alcohol blunts alertness and reduces motor coordination. People who drive after using alcohol can’t react as quickly when they need to. Their vision is affected, and may be blurred or doubled. Alcohol alters depth perception, making it hard to tell whether other vehicles, pedestrians or objects are close or far away. And because alcohol affects judgment, people who drive after drinking may feel overconfident and not recognize that their driving skills are reduced. Their driving is more likely to be careless or reckless — weaving, speeding, driving off the road and, too often, crashing. Alcohol is a depressant drug, which means it slows down your brain and body. Other depressant drugs, including some prescription drugs such as sedatives and painkillers, affect a person’s ability to drive safely, in a way similar to alcohol. Any drug that causes drowsiness, including some cough, cold or allergy medications, can also affect a person’s ability to drive safely. When alcohol and another depressant drug are combined, the effect is more intense and dangerous than the effect of either drug on its own. When taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, it is wise to consult with your doctor or pharmacist before driving.
Stimulant drugs, such as caffeine, amphetamines and cocaine, may increase alertness, but this does not mean they improve driving skills. The tired driver who drinks coffee to stay awake on the road should be aware that the stimulant effect can wear off suddenly, and that the only remedy for fatigue is to pull off the road, and sleep. Amphetamines do not seem to affect driving skills when taken at medical doses, but they do make some people over-confident, which can lead to risky driving. Higher doses of amphetamines often make people hostile and aggressive.
People who use cocaine are also likely to feel confident about their driving ability. But cocaine use affects vision, causing blurring, glare and hallucinations. “Snow lights” — weak flashes or movements of light in the peripheral field of vision — tend to make drivers swerve toward or away from the lights. People who use cocaine may also hear sounds that aren’t there, such as bells ringing, or smell scents that aren’t there, such as smoke or gas, which distract them from their driving.
Cannabis impairs depth perception, attention span and concentration, slows reaction time, and decreases muscle strength and hand steadiness — all of which can affect a person’s ability to drive safely.
The effects of hallucinogenic drugs, such as LSD, ecstasy, mescaline and psilocybin, distort perception and mood. Driving while under the influence of any of these drugs is extremely dangerous.
Because people react differently to the effects of alcohol, it is very difficult for a person to judge his or her own tolerance. A person may not feel “drunk,” but may still be legally impaired.
Is there some way I can quickly “sober up” if I’ve been drinking and need to drive home? No. Once a person consumes alcohol, it enters the bloodstream, and only time can reduce the concentration of alcohol in the blood. It takes about an hour for the average human body to process and eliminate two-thirds of the alcohol in one standard drink. This rate is constant, meaning that the more you drink, the longer time you need to wait before driving. Drinking coffee or other caffeinated beverages might make you more alert, but your ability to drive will still be impaired.
How many accidents involve drivers who have been drinking alcohol or using other drugs? About 1,350 people die each year in Canada in motor vehicle crashes involving a drinking driver, and many more are seriously injured or disabled. In Ontario in 1997, alcohol was involved in 39 per cent of motor vehicle fatalities, 45 per cent of marine vehicle fatalities and 64 per cent of snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle fatalities. Drinking and driving is the largest single criminal cause of death and injury in Canada.
The role of other drugs, used on their own or in combination with alcohol, is not routinely assessed in traffic accidents, but is known to be an important factor in many road deaths. When people involved in traffic accidents were tested for the presence of drugs in a 1992 study, the drug found most often was alcohol. However, the total number of positive test results for all drugs other than alcohol was greater than the number of positive test results for alcohol alone. After alcohol, the most commonly detected drugs were cannabis, benzodiazepines and cocaine.
Studies have found that people who have been convicted of impaired driving offenses come from many different backgrounds, age and income groups. Such studies have also identified certain characteristics of people who drink and drive. Looking at convicted drinking drivers, we see that
- most are male
- a high proportion are “heavy” drinkers
- many have an “antisocial attitude,” meaning they lack respect for the law and the safety of others, and
- of those who are convicted of drinking and driving, almost all report having driven while under the influence many times before.
Impaired driving of any vehicle is a criminal offense with strict penalties under federal and provincial law. Such penalties include suspension of the driver’s licence, fines, jail sentences, treatment and education. “http://www.camh.net/About_Addiction_Mental_Health/Drug_and_Addiction_Information/alchohol_drugs_driving_dyk.html
Drinking and driving continues be a major cause of injury and death even because the number of persons consuming alcohol has been increasing and not decreasing.
The whole truth comes out.. drunk drivers, snow removal, road accidents, recession..
Surging welfare demands in Ontario now really still begs the Questions as to when actually many of these people had lost their jobs, were unable to find one, after all welfare is used after one’s months of Unemployment insurance is used up first? It ALSO THUS seems someone is not telling us the true figures of the number of people unemployed in Canada, Ontario firstly, the recession did not just start this year.. especially since the people on welfare are generally no longer counted as unemployed.. Well the whole truth is coming out, being exposed even in Ontario.
“CP Ont. – Premier Dalton McGuinty dismissed calls Tuesday to accelerate the uploading of social assistance programs from municipalities, despite warnings that surging welfare costs will mean big tax hikes for struggling homeowners. “The short answer is no, I don’t believe so,” McGuinty said in London, Ont. The province, which pays for 80 per cent of welfare benefits, has moved a “long way” towards easing the burden on municipalities, he said. “Our burden, so to speak, is four times greater than theirs when it comes to dealing with the challenge of increasing welfare roles,” McGuinty said. “Just as they have financial challenges, so do we, and we’re going to have to find a way to manage our way through these.”
A recent TD Economics report warned that homeowners in struggling Ontario communities may be hit with big property-tax hikes to cover rising welfare costs during the recession. The report singled out Toronto, but TD economist and co-author Derek Burleton said other municipalities will face similar financial pressures as the economy sours. In its budget plan released Tuesday, Toronto signalled that residential property taxes will rise by four per cent in 2009. Mayor David Miller cited higher costs for transit, policing, snow clearance (* this explains why there have been more road accidents in Ontario now too, 17000 in the last 2 months, since Ontario’s roads have not been immediately cleared of the snow it seems..) and welfare in defending the hike. Municipalities can’t go into deficits, but the provincial government can. Municipalities currently pay 20 per cent of welfare benefits, but they also administer the program, and the province has capped increases to its share of those administrative costs, Burleton noted in his report.
Windsor, Ont., has been struggling for years to find a way out of a severe economic downturn that began in 2002, said Mayor Eddie Francis. As manufacturing jobs disappeared, welfare caseloads started to “skyrocket” in 2005, he said. With Windsor’s jobless rate hitting 11 per cent – the highest in Canada – more people are turning to welfare and other social programs as their unemployment benefits run out, Francis said. As the costs of maintaining those programs go up, the amount of tax revenue the city is collecting is plunging, he added. * “We’re at a point right now where… we’ve cut to the bone in terms of city services,” Francis said. Last year, the city lost about $15 million in tax revenue – the equivalent of a four per cent tax hike – because property values are falling and companies are shuttering plants and factories, Francis said. The loss of a GM plant alone would cost the city $3 million in much-needed tax revenue, he added. Speeding up the provincial upload of costs from municipalities and the arrival of much-needed federal cash for infrastructure projects would ease financial burden many cities and towns are facing, he said. “Everything is needed right now – all the tools,” he said. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090211/national/ont_municipalities_welfare
* It clearly appears that the lying Police chief of Ontario and also cops themselves who wrongfully even as of lately had have blamed most of the drivers themselves, speeding, for most of the accidents, they clearly wrongfully had failed to mention now that snow clearing road services were not up to par due to the recession… and definitely contributed to the accidents. the Liars, the” OPP responded to over 17,000 crashes on OPP patrolled highways in the last two months. Sgt. Woodford says not to blame the weather for the collisions, but drivers not driving according to road conditions, such as speeding and following too closely” https://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2008/12/22/cops-lie-too/
Now also the recession has been going on for years in Ontario since 2005 and Stephen Harper did not know this as the Prime Minister of Canada, so now supposedly he could not deal with it or in reality he wrongfully again did not care to know, deal with it still too? and he does not know firsthand about alcoholism and it’s problem now too?
Former Liberal prime minister Paul Martin complained Stephen Harper was too slow in bringing forward a stimulus package, saying the government should have acted before Christmas. “I think the situation is very worrisome and I think that when you see these job numbers it’s a pity that we didn’t begin with the stimulus much earlier,” Martin said of a $40-billion plan MPs approved in principle last week. “The quicker you get at this kind of thing, the better off you are. I also think it’s very important the kind of stimulus that you engage in.”
Meanwhile, Brian Mulroney expressed skepticism over Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney’s prediction the economy will pick up next year. “While I hope he’s right, I find it somewhat optimistic,” said Mulroney, who grappled with a massive deficit that amounted to 8.7 per cent of the GDP when he took over from Pierre Trudeau in 1984. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/090210/national/tv_prime_ministers
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